Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Planetary and Cometary Atmospheres [version 2; peer review: 4 approved]

Abstract

'Richard Cosentino' 'Leigh N. Fletcher' 'Mark Gurwell' 'Katherine de Kleer' 'Yi-Jehng Kuan' 'Emmanuel Lellouch' 'Arielle Moullet' 'Conor Nixon' 'Imke de Pater' 'Nicholas Teanby' 'Bryan Butler' 'Steven Charnley' 'Stefanie Milam' 'Raphael Moreno' 'Mark Booth' 'Pamela Klaassen' 'Claudia Cicone' 'Tony Mroczkowski' 'Luca Di Mascolo' 'Doug Johnstone' 'Eelco van Kampen' 'Minju Lee' 'Daizhong Liu' 'Thomas Maccarone' 'Amelie Saintonge' 'Matthew Smith' 'Sven Wedemeyer'] The study of planets and small bodies within our Solar System is fundamental for understanding the formation and evolution of the Earth and other planets. Compositional and meteorological studies of the giant planets provide a foundation for understanding the nature of the most commonly observed exoplanets, while spectroscopic observations of the atmospheres of terrestrial planets, moons, and comets provide insights into the past and present-day habitability of planetary environments, and the availability of the chemical ingredients for life. While prior and existing (sub)millimeter observations have led to major advances in these areas, progress is hindered by limitations in the dynamic range, spatial and temporal coverage, as well as sensitivity of existing telescopes and interferometers. Here, we summarize some of the key planetary science use cases that factor into the design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a proposed 50-m class single dish facility: (1) to more fully characterize planetary wind fields and atmospheric thermal structures, (2) to measure the compositions of icy moon atmospheres and plumes, (3) to obtain detections of new, astrobiologically relevant gases and perform isotopic surveys of comets, and (4) to perform synergistic, temporally-resolved measurements in support of dedicated interplanetary space missions.